Parking Deck Structure of Non-Dodging Three-Dimensional Parking Garage

ABSTRACT

A parking deck structure for a non-dodging three-dimensional (3D) parking garage is provided. The parking deck structure includes a parking deck, a parking deck column, a rotary column, and rollers for supporting upward and downward movement of the parking deck along the rotary column. Two wing plates are connected to two opposing sides of the parking deck column. With this arrangement, the parking deck structure is simple in structure and low in cost, and has high bending resistance and a better capability to support the rollers. Furthermore, an end surface connecting plate extending outward is disposed at a lower end of the parking deck column, and the parking deck column is joined to the parking deck by the end surface connecting plate. Accordingly, the parking deck structure is easy to assemble and transport.

CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2009/073088 filed Aug. 5, 2009, which claims priority of Chinese application No. 200920129290.4 filed on Jan. 12, 2009, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to a non-dodging three-dimensional (3D) parking garage, and more particularly, to a parking deck structure for a non-dodging 3D parking garage.

BACKGROUND

Because of the non-dodging movement and structure, a non-dodging three-dimensional (3D) parking garage can increase the number of parking spaces and make it convenient for vehicle drivers to park their vehicles. For example, a non-dodging 3D parking garage has been disclosed in China Patent No. CN1284915C published on Nov. 15, 2006 and entitled “Non-dodging upper-layer parking deck capable of moving, rotating and lifting”, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

A conventional parking deck structure for a non-dodging 3D parking garage is illustrated in FIG. 1. The parking deck structure 100 may include a rotary column 117, a parking deck 118, a parking deck column 122, a rear elevating support 126, a left and a right elevating support 132, and an elevating chain 130 among other features. A left side and a right side elevating roller 129 are mounted on a left and a right elevating support 132 that are independent from each other; and the left and the right elevating supports 132 are installed to a left side and a right side of the parking deck column 122 by bolts respectively. The parking deck 118 on which a car may park is connected with the parking deck column 122. The parking deck column 122 is connected with the rotary column 117 via the left and the right elevating supports 132 and the rear elevating support 126, and is movable up and down along the rotary column 117.

In a typical operation, the rotary column 117 is driven by a rotary motor (not shown) and may rotate to bring the parking deck 118 rotating as needed. The elevating chain 130 is driven by an elevating motor (not shown) and may control the parking deck column 122 and the parking deck 118 to realize upward-downward movement.

Because the parking deck 118 is suspended at a single side and the bending load is borne by the parking deck column 122 alone, the parking deck column 122 is required to have high bending resistance and to provide support for rollers in the conventional parking deck structure; this makes the structure relatively complex and costly. Furthermore, most of the conventional parking deck columns are welded to the parking deck, which is inconvenient for transportation.

Therefore, there remains a need for parking deck structures that has high bending resistance and a better capability to support rollers. There still remains a need for parking deck structures that is easy to assemble and transport.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure pertain to techniques for increasing bending resistance and improving support for rollers in parking deck structures. More specifically, the parking deck structure has a left and a right L-shaped wing plates that function to support the side rollers and enhance the bending resistance of the parking deck column. The parking deck column can be detachably assembled with the parking deck to make it convenient to transport.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a parking deck structure for a non-dodging three-dimensional (3D) parking garage, which includes a rotary column; a parking deck adapted for loading a car; a parking deck column connected with the parking deck; a rear elevating support mounted on the parking deck column and partially disposed at a rear side of the rotary column; a pair of L-shaped wing plates disposed on a left side and a right side of the parking deck column respectively, wherein each of the L-shaped wing plates extends from the parking deck column towards the rotary column and bends outward from the rotary column into an L shape, and each of the L-shaped wing plates is connected with the rear elevating support; a front roller, a rear roller and a pair of side rollers for supporting upward and downward movement of the parking deck along the rotary column, wherein the front roller is mounted on the parking deck column, the rear roller is mounted on the rear elevating support, and each of the side rollers is mounted on each of the L-shaped wing plates respectively.

In an embodiment, a parking deck structure for a non-dodging three-dimensional (3D) parking garage is provided. The parking deck structure includes a rotary column, a parking deck adapted for loading a car, and a parking deck column fixedly connected with the parking deck and movably coupled with the rotary column. The parking deck structure also includes a rear elevating support mounted on the parking deck column, and a pair of wing plates disposed on two opposing sides of the parking deck column. Each of the wing plates extends from the parking deck column towards the rotary column and bends outward from the rotary column, and each of the wing plates is connected with the rear elevating support. The parking structure further includes a front roller mounted on the parking deck column, a rear roller mounted on the rear elevating support, and a pair of side rollers on the respective wing plates. The rollers support upward and downward movement of the parking deck along the rotary column. In a particular embodiment, the wing plates are L-shaped.

In an embodiment, the wing plates are disposed along a height direction of the parking deck column and are welded or bolted to the parking deck column.

In an embodiment, the parking deck structure also includes an end surface connecting plate extending outward at a lower end of the parking deck column, and the parking deck column is joined to the parking deck by the end surface connecting plate.

In an embodiment, the parking deck structure further includes a longitudinal beam joined to an end of the parking deck near the parking deck column, a longitudinal beam supporting foot joined at a side of the longitudinal beam away from the parking deck. The longitudinal beam supporting foot includes a supporting surface and a reinforcing rib located beneath the supporting surface, and the supporting surface of the longitudinal beam supporting foot is attached to a lower side of the end surface connection plate; and the end surface connection plate is joined together with the longitudinal beam and the supporting surface of the longitudinal beam supporting foot to allow for connection of the end surface connection plate with the parking deck.

The end surface connection plate is joined to the longitudinal beam and the supporting surface of the longitudinal beam supporting foot by bolts. A lower end of each of the wing plates is connected to an upper side of the end surface connection plate. The parking deck, the longitudinal beam and the longitudinal beam supporting foot are welded together. The reinforcing rib is connected between the end surface connecting plate and the parking deck column. The parking deck column and the end surface connecting plate are welded together. The rear elevating support is joined to the wing plates by bolts.

The present disclosure at least has several benefits. First, the wing plates enhance the bending resistance of the parking deck column and improve support for the rollers. Because the left and the right wing plates are joined to the left side and the right side of the parking deck column, the left side and the right side rollers can be mounted on the wing plates respectively, and the rear elevating support can also be connected to the wing plates. Furthermore, because an elevating chain 30 has an end connected to the parking deck column and the other end connected to a sprocket (not shown) that is fixed to the rotary column, the load acting on the parking deck can be transferred to the rotary column via the elevating chain as well as the front roller, the rear roller and the side rollers. Therefore, the left and the right wing plates have the functions of supporting the side rollers and enhancing the bending resistance of the parking deck column. In one embodiment, the longitudinal beam supporting feet fixed to the longitudinal beam of the parking deck can transfer the bending load from the parking deck to the wing plates and reduce the force acting on the bolts 21. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not only simple in structure and low in cost, but can also improve the capability to support the rollers and the bending resistance of the parking deck column.

Second, the parking deck column is removably attached to the parking deck. In a particular embodiment, the longitudinal beam formed integrally with the parking deck and the longitudinal beam supporting foot fixed to the longitudinal beam are assembled onto the end surface connecting plate located at a lower end of the parking deck column by bolts, so the parking deck column can be detachably assembled with the parking deck to make it convenient to transport.

Additional embodiments and features are set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the specification or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure. A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional non-dodging 3D parking deck structure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a parking deck structure for a non-dodging 3D parking garage according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic left-side view of the parking deck structure of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of portion 402 shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure may be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings as briefly described below. It is noted that, for purposes of illustrative clarity, certain elements in the drawings may not be drawn to scale.

For ease of description, terms indicating orientations such as “front”, “rear”, “left” and “right” are used in the following description. Here, these terms are defined with reference to the orientation shown in FIG. 3, with a direction pointing outward perpendicularly from the paper plane being defined as the “front”.

FIGS. 2 to 5 are schematic views of a parking deck structure for a non-dodging 3D parking garage according to the present disclosure. The parking deck structure 200 may include a rotary column 17, a parking deck column 22 movably coupled to the rotary column 17 by front, rear and side rollers 27, 28, 29 and substantially parallel to the rotary column 17, a parking deck 18 fixedly connected to the parking deck column 22. The parking deck structure 200 also includes a rear elevating support 26 attached to parking deck column 22, and a pair of wing plates 24, 25 coupled to the parking deck column 22. The parking deck structure further includes a front roller 27, a rear roller 28 and a pair of side rollers 29 configured for support upward and downward movements of the parking deck column 22 and thus the parking deck 18 along the rotary column 17. The parking deck 18 may be used for loading and unloading a vehicle. The parking deck column 122 is movably coupled with the rotary column 17 via the front, rear and side rollers 27, 28, 29, and is movable up and down along the rotary column 17.

Referring to FIG. 2 now, the parking deck column 22 is vertically positioned and connected with the parking deck 18. The parking deck 18 is adapted for loading a car and has a substantially horizontal planar surface for receiving the car. The rear elevating support 26 is mounted on the parking deck column 22 and partially disposed at a rear side of the rotary column 17, where the parking deck column 22 and the rotary column 17 have a common vertical axial direction or height direction along which the parking deck 18 moves up and down along the rotary column 17. The rotary column 17 has a vertical axis substantially parallel to a vertical axis of the parking deck column 22.

Parking deck 18 is connected to a reinforcing longitudinal beam 19, which is connected to the parking deck column 22 through an end surface connecting plate 23. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the reinforcing longitudinal beam 19 is welded to a parking deck 18, and a longitudinal beam support foot 20 is welded to a rear side of the longitudinal beam 19 that is away from the parking deck 18. The longitudinal beam supporting foot 20 includes a supporting surface 201 and a reinforcing rib 202 located beneath the supporting surface 201, with an upper side of the supporting surface being substantially flush with an upper surface of the longitudinal beam 19. An end surface connecting plate 23 extending outward is welded at a lower end of the parking deck column 22, and a reinforcing rib 231 is disposed between the end surface connecting plate 23 and the parking deck column 22. An upper side of the supporting surface 201 of the longitudinal beam 19 is attached to a lower side of the end surface connecting plate 23, and the end surface connecting plate 23 is joined together with the supporting surface 201 of the longitudinal beam supporting foot 20 by bolts 21. In this way, the parking deck 18 and the parking deck column 22 can be detachably connected together, which makes them easy to assemble and transport.

Referring to FIG. 3 now, the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 are disposed on a left side and a right side of the parking deck column 22 respectively. Rear elevating support 26 is not shown in FIG. 3, as it is behind the parking deck column 22.

Referring to FIG. 5 now, each of the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 extends from the parking deck column 22 towards the rotary column 17 and bends outward from the rotary column 17 into an L shape, and each of the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 is connected with the rear elevating support 26 which is mounted on the parking deck column 22. The front roller 27, the rear roller 28 and the side rollers 29 are configured for supporting upward and downward movement of the parking deck 18 along the rotary column 17. The front roller 27 is mounted on the parking deck column 22, the rear roller 28 is mounted on the rear elevating support 26, and each of the side rollers 29 is mounted on the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 respectively.

As shown in FIG. 3, a lower end of each of the left and the right wing plates 24, 25 is pressed against an upper side of the end surface connecting plate 23 and the longitudinal beam supporting foot 20 is pressed against a lower side of the end surface connecting plate 23 to form a secure structure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of portion 402 shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, a right wing plate 24 and a left wing plate 25 are welded along a left side and a right side of the parking deck column 22 respectively, and preferably, the wing plates 24, 25 are distributed along the height direction of the parking deck column 22. Each of the wing plates 24, 25 extends from a side surface of the parking deck column 22 towards the rotary column 17 and, from the side surface of the rotary column, is bent outward to form an L-shaped wing plate. At a side of each of the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 that is near the rotary column 17, a side roller 29 is mounted by a side roller supporting frame 291 connected to the L-shaped wing plate; and the other side of each of the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 that is away from the rotary column 17 is joined together with a lateral side of the rear elevating support 26 by bolts. A front roller 27 is mounted on the parking deck column 22 at the front side of the rotary column 17, a rear roller 28 is mounted on the rear elevating support 26 at the rear side of the rotary column 17, and a pair of side rollers 29 are mounted on the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 at the left side and the right side of the rotary column 17, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 2 again, the elevating chain 30 has one end connected to the parking deck column 22 and the other end connected to a sprocket (not shown) fixed to the rotary column 17. As a result, the load acting on the parking deck 18 may transfer to the rotary column 17 through the elevating chain 30, the front roller 27, the rear roller 28 and the side rollers 29. Thus, the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 fixed at the left side and the right side of the parking deck column 22 respectively not only serve to support the side rollers 29, but can also enhance the bending resistance of the parking deck column 22, L-shaped wing plate 25 is behind wing plate 24 (not shown in FIG. 2).

In a particular embodiment, the L-shaped wing plates 24, 25 may be joined with the parking deck column 22 by bolts, and the end surface connecting plate 23 may be joined to the longitudinal beam 19 and the supporting surface 201 of the longitudinal beam supporting foot 200 through welding.

Having described several embodiments, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. Additionally, a number of well-known processes and elements have not been described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. Accordingly, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention.

It should thus be noted that the matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings should be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. The following claims are intended to cover all generic and specific features described herein, as well as all statements of the scope of the present method and system, which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. 

1. A parking deck structure for a non-dodging three-dimensional (3D) parking garage, comprising: a rotary column; a parking deck adapted for loading a car; a parking deck column fixedly connected with the parking deck and movably coupled to the rotary column; a rear elevating support mounted on the parking deck column; a pair of wing plates disposed on two opposing sides of the parking deck column, wherein each of the wing plates extends from the parking deck column towards the rotary column and bends outward from the rotary column, and each of the wing plates is connected with the rear elevating support; a front roller mounted on the parking deck column; a rear roller mounted on the rear elevating support; and a pair of side rollers on the respective wing plates, wherein the rollers support upward and downward movement of the parking deck along the rotary column.
 2. The parking deck structure of claim 1, wherein the wing plates are disposed along a height direction of the parking deck column and are welded or bolted to the parking deck column.
 3. The parking deck structure of claim 1, further comprises an end surface connecting plate for connecting the parking deck column to the parking deck, the end surface connecting plate extending outward from a lower end of the parking deck column.
 4. The parking deck structure of claim 3, further comprises a longitudinal beam connected to the parking deck, a longitudinal beam supporting foot joined at a side of the longitudinal beam, wherein the longitudinal beam supporting foot comprises a supporting surface and a reinforcing rib located beneath the supporting surface, and the supporting surface of the longitudinal beam supporting foot is attached to a lower side of the end surface connection plate; and wherein the end surface connection plate is joined together with the supporting surface of the longitudinal beam supporting foot to allow for connection of the end surface connection plate with the parking deck.
 5. The parking deck structure of claim 4, wherein the end surface connection plate is joined to the supporting surface of the longitudinal beam supporting foot by bolts.
 6. The parking deck structure of claim 4, wherein the parking deck, the longitudinal beam and the longitudinal beam supporting foot are welded together.
 7. The parking deck structure of claim 4, wherein the reinforcing rib is connected between the end surface connecting plate and the parking deck column.
 8. The parking deck structure of claim 3, wherein a lower end of each of the wing plates is connected to an upper side of the end surface connection plate.
 9. The parking deck structure of claim 7, wherein the rear elevating support is joined to the wing plates by bolts.
 10. The parking deck structure of claim 3, wherein the parking deck column and the end surface connecting plate are welded together.
 11. The parking deck structure of claim 1, wherein the wing plates are L-shaped. 